Does it have the tension spring and plunger under the nose-cap?

The barrel band spring tension deal on mine was odd....shot so-so with no spring(as received)...I made a new spring and shot it some more playing with the spring tension on the middle barrel band....more so-so to fair accuracy. Took the screw to tight as it would go and she shot pretty decent then.

I will say that this was years ago and I did not understand the LE draws and stock fit all that well. My rifles draws were hammered loose and I did not really figure that out until later. I repaired the SSA rifle's draws a couple years ago and it still prefers the barrel band snugged tight.

I'm just saying that the SMLE rifle has a lot of parts in play just in the forearm!